Monday, June 30, 2008

MONDAY IN THE GARDEN

There's something about Purple Coneflower( also known as Echinacea) that really proclaims that summer is here. This drought resistant plant blooms in our garden just when we start entering the typically drier season of late June( though ours started in mid-June) and July. Happily, though, we had a weekend of on and off rainy periods that certainly helped the other less drought tolerant plants in the garden perk up a bit. As I type this post the rain has arrived again and I'm so grateful that mother nature is doing her part in nourishing the garden. Rain makes me long for a cuppa... So...if you'll excuse my short post, I'm going to see if I still have some Echinacea tea leftover from the winter...Hum......I found this interesting historic note about Echinacea:

Echinacea angustifolia rhizome was used by North American Plains Indians, perhaps more than most other plants, for various herbal remedies. Echinacea was one of the basic antimicrobial herbs of eclectic medicine from the mid 19th century through the early 20th century, and its use was documented for snakebite and anthrax. In the 1930s echinacea became popular in both Europe and America as an herbal medicine.

8 comments:

Hello Rebecca, so nice to see your cheery pink blossoms--how profuse they are--and serene statue today. I'm glad your thirsty plants are enjoying a long drink. It's interesting about echinacea...up here in Canada, it is very popular as a preventative of colds, and if taken during a cold, is said to shorten its duration. Throat lozenges infused with echinacea are taken by many, too. I've never tried it in tea format, however....enjoy your cuppa!